Wake Up
by alyosha's madness
Summary: Steven acquires a new power with fatal results.
1. Chapter 1

"Aw come on Please."

"No"

"Please, Pleeeeaaassseee. I haven't been on a mission in so long. I'm becoming mission deficient. I mean how can I be a crystal gem without any mission experience? You need to level up your Steven."

"I said no and that is final young man."

"Just let him come. It's only a trip to the relay tower and back. That's all."

*sigh* "Alright fine but just promise to stay alert and keep your guard up okay."

"Woooo!"

Steven jumped in the air cheering. It had been weeks since his last mission. With the impending threat of the home world gems it was unanimously decided (by Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, and not Steven) that he should only be allowed on "safe" missions i.e. sit in his room and wait. It wasn't so bad at first, but after leaving earth's atmosphere on three separate occasions and going on insane missions to collect feral gems Beach City just seemed so tame, so boring.

"Just hang on for a second alright. I need to get my mission pack."

Pearl glanced at garnet. "His mission pack?"

"Uh, duh. That weird backpack he carries around all time." said amethyst filling in for Garnet's silence. "Seriously though, that thing kinda gives me the creeps. It's too…cheerful ya'know."

Steven ran up the stairs of the loft to search for the backpack he had discarded by his bed.

"Hm, let's see. What could come in handy for this mission? A pillow maybe? Yeah they're like armor against gravity. Totally worth it. Action guy hank? Well his glow in the dark laser eyes could come in handy but on the other hand…*argh* ow ow ow, my stomach."

Steven crumpled over on his bed clutching at the gem protruding from his belly as tears began to form in the corner of his eyes. *argh* "Ow, come on not now." He grunted to himself as waves of pain pulsated from the rose quartz gem in his middle causing him to curl up further into himself on his bed

That was the other problem with being forced to sit still for weeks on end: the stomach pains. It had started out small and unnoticed at first. A pinch here maybe an upset stomach there, but lately it had been almost crippling. Garnet had told him it would be fine in just a little while "I've seen it." was all she said in her stoic manner. Amethyst didn't really seem to care that much "It's probably just puberty dude. Looks like someone's becoming a man." whatever that was Steven wasn't sure he wanted to find out. But Pearl, Pearl seemed to care as she worked herself into tears listing a number of diseases with names too long for him to pronounce or remember that all started with a little stomach pain and usually ended in death. Then again though that was just Pearl being Pearl, so nothing to worry about…right?

Finally the pain receded enough to let him uncurl and stand up. Frustrated by his moment of weakness Steven pulled up the edge of his shirt and wiped the manly, totally not childish pain tears from his eyes and kicked his cheeseburger backpack aside. "Stupid gem why can't you work the way I want you to?" He muttered to the rose quartz as his raced back down the stairs. The gems were already standing on the warp pad waiting for him.

"What's this? I thought you were going to be needing your "mission pack" for today's secret special mission Steven." Garnet said reaching down and giving his cheek a slight affectionate pinch.

"Uh, well you know I'm a growing boy…um man and men don't need cheeseburger backpacks for missions." Steven said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Is that so?"

"Yup, Amethyst says I'm growing into puberty."

"WHAT!?" Shrieked Pearl

But before anyone could calm her down there was a flash of light and where they had been standing in the cramped, so-cal room of Steven Universe they now stood outside the entrance of a cave jutting out along the side of a cliff, the sea below them raging on.

"Amethyst why - tell - Steven shouldn't have to - *gah* this wind is so-"

A cold, wet wind blew off the sea below and up the side of the cliff drowning out anything Pearl might have said about the sanctity of Steven's innocence. Realizing the futility of trying to lecture amethyst, she gave up and followed the others inside. The cave itself was as wet and dank as the weather outside. Steven shivered.

"So what are we doing here again?" he asked.

"We're here to check on the relay tower to see if long range communications are still online. At the very least we need to secure it and ensure that Peridot can't use it to contact the home world, but it would be nice if we could contact other gem controlled worlds and maybe get some help." Garnet responded. "Who knows, maybe there are other like-minded gems out there."

They walked in silence for a long time. With the sun hidden behind the clouds and no other sources of natural light the cave had been dim at the entrance but as they walked past the cracked walls of rock stepping further and further into the gloom it was threatening to become pitch black.

Pearl was light on her feet as always and could easily avoid any obstacles no matter how difficult it was to see them in the dark and Garnet just soldiered on like it was nothing but Amethyst was struggling and after the second time she tripped over a jagged rock and went head first into the ground she cursed.

*Argh* "Why the heck are we walking around in the dark!?" Steven, didn't you bring a flashlight in that backpack of yours? Well now would be the time to use it genius!"

"I-I didn't bring my backpack remember? But I think I might have something just as good."

Steven fumbled around in the dark reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. Manipulating the screen till the flashlight app appeared he tapped it and instantly the cave was illuminated by the phone's single LED light. By all accounts the cave was completely ordinary with dripping stalactites and an uneven floor scattered with rocks and pebbles. How had he been able to walk this far into the cave without falling on his face more than once or twice? He'd never know.

Steven looked at Pearl. "We're looking for the relay tower right? In this cave? Aren't these places supposed to be a little more um, you know, more mystical looking or whatever?"

"Oh, Steven, the relay that we are looking for was originally used as the main form of communication between earth and our home world, eh, before everything went to pieces. The point is we couldn't just leave something like that out in the open for anyone to find especially the recently evolved humans so we tucked it away in a place where almost no one would think to look. It was actually my suggestion which got it placed here and considering the lack of damage or signs of life. I'd say I did a pretty good job of it to." Pearl said with only the slightest hint of modesty.

They walked on further until they came to a large ornate door depicting what looked like two gems holding hands. A miniature version of earth floated above the conjoined pair with strange symbols Steven had never seen around the edges of the door.

"Whoa, Pearl did you design this door too?" Steven asked

Pearl became a little flustered. "Well no, I didn't actually design any of this I just made the…..you know what? It doesn't really matter who built this. What 's important is that it was my idea to put it here and that's all that matters."

Amethyst snorted. *Ha* "sounds like someone's jealous Rose didn't want them on the construction team."

"That's not true I can build things too…sort of. I mean I built a rocket ship out of Greg's old junk…it did explode, but who could build anything with this primitive technology. It's just that some gems are better suited to those kinds of tasks and, and we were spread so thin at the time." Pearls eyes became downcast at the thought.

"Yeah, don't forget that your "EMP" knocked out the town's power for like a day. I believe the phrase "artistically challenged" was used. Like a lot. Like a lot a lot." Amethyst chided.

"All right break it up you two, the last thing I need is another headache from your constant bickering." Garnet said, interrupting pearl and amethyst as she strode over to the door and placed her hand over the miniature earth. The door reacting almost immediately to the presence of Garnet's gems lit up before dissolving into nothing.

The room beyond the door was in worse shape than any of the crystal gems could have anticipated. Large, glowing green crystals that had once served as the base of the communication array lay shattered and broken on the floor. What must have been a command council at one point in time had been broken in two and thrown across the room. Worse yet were the holes that had been drilled into the walls almost as if someone had tried desperately to escape…or get in.

"Oh my!" Pearl exclaimed. "Look at this place. Its structural integrity must have been compromised centuries ago. It's practically a miracle the ceiling hasn't caved in yet."

Steven stepped into the room with the rest of the Gems to help survey the damage. He only got a few steps in before he heard a loud *CRUNCH* underneath his shoe. He took several steps back and looked down to see the shattered remains of several gems. Red, yellow, pink, blue, a color he had never seen before. Suddenly the collar of his shirt was too tight and his breath caught in his throat. What had happened here?

"Look at it Steven and remember" It was Garnet; she was staring at him from across the room. "These were once living beings and now they are not. It's important to remember that war can be a truly terrible thing. Not something to romanticize about like in your movies or videogames." She walked over to him and put an arm around his back bringing him in for a close hug. "Do you understand Steven?" He could only nod his head in the affirmative. "Yeah, I get it."

Garnet smiled at him and released him from the embrace. Standing up she looked at the other gems. *sigh* "Well, I think it's obvious this place is trashed beyond repair or at least beyond any repairs we can make. At least we know Peridot won't be using any of this. It was worth a look but I'm thinking we should head home now."

The others agreed and began to make for the door, the war had clearly left no place untouched and it was a little disheartening to know that there would be no help coming for them in future battles. They were completely and totally alone.

*crack*

Pearl's head swiveled around. "Wait! Did anybody hear that?"

*Crack*

"Yeah, there it is again. Everybody, I think something is coming this way."

*CRACK*

The ceiling was beginning to divide as the sound of a thousand drills boring through rock filled the room. Before any of the gems could react the ceiling broke and chunks of debris rained down on them. Steven threw up his shield to protect himself from the cascade of rocks just in time to see a perfectly Shaped Steven sized rock bounce off the pink dome and land a foot away. At the sudden activation of his powers a searing pain began to form in the pit of his stomach. "No! No, not now." he said through gritted teeth as he tried to maintain the protective barrier that saved him from being flattened into a Steven pancake. Finally the maelstrom stopped leaving the room clouded by dust. Not needing it anymore Steven allowed the pink bubble surrounding him to burst as he collapsed on the ground clutching at his insides.

"OW, oh, Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst?" He moaned. "I think I need some help here. *argh* Steven down you guys."

The dust in the room was still settling and he couldn't see well. The pain in his stomach had reached a point where concentrating on anything else became difficult. Despite all this he could still make out bits and pieces of what was going on around him.

"Argh, what are these things?" followed by the crack of a whip. Amethyst.

"It doesn't matter just stay together and don't let them split us up. Finding Steven is now our top priority." Garnet; that was Garnet's voice.

"Arg! So many legs. I hate these feral gems. Haven't we rounded them all up by now? Where do they keep coming from?" Followed by the sound of Pearl's spear carving out a chunk of rock and an animal's scream.

_The gems_ Steven thought _They must be fighting whatever tried to bring the ceiling down on our heads. I've got to…argh…I've got to help them_. He struggled to his feet only to be brought down to his knees immediately after. Taking in a deep breath he stood up and powered forward. _Got to help them, Got to help them. If only I could just reach them then maybe I could…_ The pain in his stomach had become a pressure. It needed release. The gem embedded in his middle began to glow a bright pink as the dust finally settled enough for him to see. The gems, his friends and family, were being swarmed by giant insects, no, more like giant spiders. Their shiny black bodies were covered in light brown stripes as dark brown multifaceted gemstones adorned their backsides. Their legs spun and swiveled just below the joints, like tiny drills. There were so many of them, crawling along the ceiling, walls, and floor that they threatened to overwhelm the gems where they stood.

"Steven!" Pearl shouted when she spotted him and jumped in front of him to skewer two of the arachnids that had broken off from the pack to attack him.

He couldn't help it any more, the pressure inside was demanding release. Steven's eyes widened as a burst of swirling pink energy shot out of his rose quartz gem with enough force that he had to brace himself to keep from falling on his back. _Whoa, a new power. This is so cool_ he thought. And then-

*Omph*

Something had slammed into Pearl's back almost knocking her off her feet as she tried to maintain balance. Her legs felt weak for some reason and were hard to control as she threw her spear out in front of her for support. She looked down to see a ragged red hole in her chest.

"B-but I was so careful and kept my guard up like you taught me to…Rose."

Steven watched in horror as his friend collapsed on the ground and retreated back into her gem to restore herself from the wound HE had given her.

"I-I didn't…I didn't mean to…."

A rock loosened by the fighting fell from the ceiling and cracked Steven in the head. The room swam before dissolving into darkness.

"Pearl…I'm sorry."


	2. Chapter 2

Steven awoke to a pounding headache. Forcing his eyes open he found himself adrift in an empty darkness with nothing in sight for as far as he could see.

"Ah! I've gone blind." He screamed.

It wasn't until he groped around at the darkness in front of him that he realized he could actually see his hands. They were giving off a faint pinkish glow that hovered just above the skin illuminating them against the pitch black background. Was this another gem power?

He shrugged. "So, not blind just lost in a void then? Hm, fair enough."

Stranger still he didn't seem to be standing on anything solid and yet he was neither falling nor rising. He just floated, weightless in the middle of the void with no idea how he had gotten there. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to force the memories to come back to him. All he got in return was a throbbing pain in his left temple and fragments of things that may or may not have happened. He had had stomach pains, but had gone on a mission with the gems anyways. A beam of pink energy burst from his gem and then… what? He had been hit in the head by a falling rock, but there was something else tearing at the edges of his memory. Pearl? Yeah, Pearl had been badly hurt by…him? Steven's eyes shot open at the sudden remembrance.

"Pearl!? Pearl, oh man I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean to…to…" He could feel tears welling up in his eyes hot and stingy.

"Hey now, don't cry it'll be alright. I'm alright."

"Pearl!?" There was no one else in the void with him, but that voice. Her voice sounded so far away but it was so warm and gentle that it had to be her, there was no one else.

*heh heh* "That's right Steven. You don't have to worry about me I'm okay but there's something I need you to do for me."

"What is it Pearl? I'll do anything . Please, just tell me."

"Okay…wake up."

"What?"

"WAKE UP Steven!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about Pearl. I'm right here, I am awake."

"I said: WAKE UP!"

Steven's eyes shot open.

He had no idea how long he had been staring at his bedroom's wooden ceiling. Had he been sleeping with his eyes wide open? Had he just zoned out? He didn't know, but his eyes screamed of dryness as he crushed them shut. Reveling in the bittersweet stinging sensation he felt as he rubbed them raw. He tried to recall how he had gotten to his bedroom. It was a lot easier to make up a story for that then it was the dark void.

"Come on Steven" he chided himself. "You just gotta wake up and get yourself moving."

Someone had taken the liberty of laying him on his bed. Sitting up Steven threw one leg over the side then the other. Trying to stand up he was immediately brought back down to the mattress as the room began to spin and his wobbly legs buckled beneath him. Frustrated, Steven sat on the edge of his bed trying to concentrate on his surroundings as Garnet had taught him to. It was raining outside; the pitter patter of raindrops fell audibly against the wooden roof. It wasn't raining when they had entered the cave. Also, someone had laid him out on his bed to rest. And this meant what exactly?

"Hm, we must have won the battle in the relay room but I've been unconscious for a while."

He tried harder. The room was dimly lit. _Maybe the gems weren't expecting me to wake up for a long time? _He thought. His hand was brushing back his hair when he felt it. His fingers closed around a soft, fleshy lump just above his left temple. "Ah! Oh no, my beautiful face is ruined!" He inadvertently tugged at the lump and to his surprise it came away in his hand. Tentatively opening his fist he examined the thing that that had been stuck to his forehead. "What the? What is this stuff?" He looked at it for a long time before he realized the thing he was holding was a mass of bloody gauze and medical tape.

"Okay, so I was hurt really bad at the relay tower and someone brought me back here to fix me up. Wait, so did I dream all that stuff with Pearl then?"

Suddenly he was pulled from his thoughts as he became aware of the faint crackling sound in the room. *Sniff, sniff* "I-is that bacon I'm smelling?"

"Well hey there stu-ball I wasn't expecting to see you awake for a while."

Steven jumped off the bed nearly having a heart attack in the process. He hadn't expected to find anyone else in the room with him. "D-dad?!"

"Uh, yeah kiddo the gems kinda let me move in here while we waited for you to recover." Greg said as he gave Steven a hand in helping him down from the lofted bed.

Steven stared up at his dad in amazement. "Y-you look different."

Greg had always been a staunch advocate of the hard rock life style never once caring about what other people thought of his appearance. Even after his career got rag dolled and his hair fell out he was still rocking the plain white t-shirt and jean shorts that barely fit around his gut. But the Greg that stood before Steven looked very different, older, maybe a little more mature. He wore black dress pants that actually reached his feet and a long sleeved shirt that didn't leave his stomach bulging out. More surprising still was the fact that his father had cut the long shaggy remains of his hair close cropped to his head. As he came in for a hug Steven flinched away at the stench of stale cologne.

"D-dad you, uh, you look….nice. What's the occasion?" He finished lamely not knowing what else to say.

Greg rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, thanks Steven. Honestly it's been a long time since I've worn this thing, like not since your mother and I had our wedding. Heh, I can't believe it still fits."

Steven was staring up at him expectantly. Was he looking for a story about his mother? Greg took his hand away from his neck, this was getting awkward.

"Uh, listen Steven I made breakfast why don't you settle down at the table over there. I-I've got somethings I need to talk to you about."

**000**

They sat eating in silence for a long time. Steven, having just woken up, was starving and quickly gulped down anything and everything he could lay his hands on. Greg poked and prodded at the soupy eggs before deciding he wasn't hungry and pushed them away. The rest of his time was spent focusing on the fridge, the ceiling, a small pile of dirt gathering in the corner, anything that wasn't Steven.

"Uh, dad are you going to eat the rest of that?"

Greg looked down at his son. He hadn't even noticed that Steven had started eating.

"Come on it would be wasteful if we didn't eat it all. Bacon me please."

Greg could never resist that face no matter what others might say. He quietly slid the plate of eggs and bacon across the table to Steven. Suddenly he could feel tears welling up corner of his eyes. Whatever he was, Steven was innocent of any wrong doing that much Greg knew.

"Uh, what's the matter dad you look awfully …sad? D-did I do something wrong? I mean, did you want the bacon? Here take it. It's pretty good."

Steven was looking up at him with a worried expression. This was it, this was the reason Greg had been both dreading and praying for Steven to wake up. Well, no going back now.

*sigh* "Steven, buddy, do you remember when I had that dog? Come on you remember it was that shaggy mutt that used to follow me around everywhere till I finally just gave in and adopted it? You and the gems used to joke that it looked just like me with that bald patch it had between its eyes."

Steven could feel a cold sweat staring to creep down his back. This story didn't have a happy ending. Why was his dad telling him this and where was-

"Dad, where's Pearl?"

Greg's eyes shifted away from Steven's for an uncomfortable moment before he soldiered on with his story. "S-so anyways one day I was tossing the Frisbee around with him by the car wash and BAM! That car came out of nowhere and-"

"Dad! What happened to Pearl? What's the matter? Is she taking a long time to recover?"

"S-so I-I took him to the vet to see if there was anything they could do-"

"DAD!"

Greg almost leapt out of his skin at the sudden outburst. *sigh* "I-I'm sorry Steven I'm not good at this sort of stuff. I know that, you know that, the gems know that. Gah, why did they make me the one to tell you this? They'd be a lot better at it then me."

"Dad?"

"Uh, look kiddo I just got the cliff notes version of it, I mean it's not like anyone stopped to explain anything to me, but…Pearl. She, uh, she didn't make it back from your last mission. I-I'm sorry buddy."

Steven could feel a small breath of relief creep into him. "S-so, Pearl's okay then? W-we just have to go back to the relay tower and get her, right?"

Greg cringed. This was going to be harder than he thought. "Um, no Steven no. Pearl is…Gah, how do I put this? Pearl isn't here anymore she's…she's with your mother, you know, wherever gems go when they…when they die."

Steven nearly fell out of his chair. It wasn't right, the air in the room wasn't right. He couldn't breathe; it was the relay tower all over again only a hundred times worse. Was this what they called a panic attack? Pearl was…and he had been the one to…

"No!" Steven Shouted "That's not right! I-I saw her get hurt sh-she went back into her gem l-like last time so she could heal herself. She was going to be fine. I was going to tell her how sorry I was and everything was going to be f-" He couldn't finish the sentence through the tears streaming down his cheeks or his cracking voice. He could feel the snot bubbling out of his nose as he blubbered on.

"Ah, geez, Steven come here." Greg said opening his arms wide for a hug. "I'm sorry that you had to-" He was cut off by a sudden beeping emanating from his wristwatch. "Oh man the interview! Look Steven, I'm really, really sorry about this but I've gotta catch a bus across town or else I'm going to be late for my interview."

"W-what?" All of a sudden things were moving too quickly. Steven felt as if he were still dreaming.

"Look, Steven I was kinda hoping we'd have more time to discuss this but frankly this whole incident has shown me just how dangerous you time with the gems has been. I can't let you go on these missions anymore if there's a chance that that they could end with one less son for me. I-I care about you too much for that."

Greg had stood up from the table by this point and was hastily tugging his arm through the sleeve of his jacket as he back stepped towards the door.

"So starting immediately I'm going to be a more responsible parent." He tripped over himself as he tried to slide on one of his shoes. "No more mystical gem stuff, no more car wash, and no more living in separate homes. I'm getting a respectable job, selling the van, and then we're going to find a nice quite place to call home together. But right now I've gotta split so we'll talk more about this at dinner alright sport?"

Before Steven could process what Greg had said his father was already out the door and gone. The sound of the van's rickety tires squealing against the pavement could be heard in the distance leaving Steven standing in the middle of the room feeling as if he were going to throw up.

Maybe it was an information overload, maybe reality had finally become too much and he was going crazy but standing there in his room within the temple Steven he swore could hear Pearl's voice whispering faintly.

"Steven, wake up. Please wake up."


	3. Chapter 3

"Wake up Steven! Please wake up."

Steven almost knocked over the lamp on his dresser as he sat bolt upright in bed. His breathe came heavy and he could feel the prickle of goosebumps across his skin as beads of cold sweat poured down his back. He rubbed his eyes raw waiting for them to adjust to the darkened room.

"A dream." he told himself "It was just another dream. Go back to sleep."

In the three weeks it had taken Greg to sell his car washing business and get a job in the city filing paperwork for some big shot executive Steven had had many such dreams. They all began differently, but ended the same; with Pearl. She was always saying the same thing; always "Wake up Steven. Wake up." Sometime he could hear the echoes of other voices as well, but hers was always the loudest.

Steven lazily turned his head to the digital clock on his bed side table. 6:00 A.M. flashed back at him in bright neon green. It was thirty minutes before he had to wake up and start the daily routine his new life had planned for him i.e. wake up, shower, eat breakfast, and catch the bus for school.

"Ah jeeze man, Really? That's the perfect amount of time to do nothing. " He said crushing a pillow over his head in frustration.

With his dad holding down a respectable job and Steven being moved into the Beach City public school system it was to be an ordinary life for an ordinary kid from here on out. Closing his eyes he tried to catch up on the last, precious few minutes of sleep that might power him through Mrs. Hinckle's math class. Shifting from one side to the next for what seemed like an eternity he realized sleep would not be coming.

*sigh* "When did I start caring about getting enough sleep or what grades will show up on my next round of tests. Didn't I used to fight monsters and travel through space and stuff?" He began tracing a finger down the pillow's crinkled seam. "Pearl….I really miss you. I wish you were here right now so I could tell you-"

A sudden pain streaked across his stomach as his gem pulsed a dull pinkish hue. "OW! Ah, no not again. Please." he groaned through gritted teeth.

And just as suddenly as it had come it was gone. Steven unclenched his fists. At least this time he knew what the pain meant. He'd have to find some place secluded so he didn't blast anyone else with his latest gem power. He got up showered and ate breakfast: a banana and bagel slices again *bleh* still it was food. Steven scooped up his backpack and headed out the door.

"Okay dad I'm heading out now." He called out to his father's sleeping form sprawled out on the living room couch. *ha-ha* "No, no please you don't have to get up on my account." Steven called out sarcastically. Greg slept on, oblivious to his son leaving the apartment. "Man, dad really needs to cut back a little I think this job might actually be killing him."

Steven began to hum to himself as he slipped out the door of the Beach City apartment complex. Half way down the street now he stopped and looked up at the bus stop already crammed with kids waiting to start their school day. "Ugh, I really don't want to go back."

School had never been as fun for Steven as Connie had made it seem but then again she went to a private school.

*tch* "I bet they serve all kinds of fancy gourmet food there." He said thinking back to the disappointing salisbury steak lunch they had severed on his first day. He had seen rocks that were softer than that steak.

Lunch, unfortunately wasn't the worst part of his new life. At school Steven had learned that being different meant you were weird and being weird was fifty shades of suck. On his first day he had acquired the name "cheeseburger boy" on account of his novelty backpack and the name had stuck. "So what." he told himself, trying to stay upbeat "The gems had liked my backpack just fine….I think."

Absentmindedly he kicked a small rock off the sidewalk and into the grass where it tumbled down the hill. Steven watched as it missed one of the tree and instead bounced into a nearby chain link fence. A loud *clang* rattled along the backyards of the homes at the foot of the hill. He was about to turn and head back to the bus stop caught one trees moving out of the corner of his eye. He squinted down along the tree line. All movement had stopped.

"Argh, pull it together Steven." he chided himself. "There's nothing down there."

He turned around and began walking again. *snap* the sound of a tree branch being crushed under foot made his head spin around.

"Hello?" he called out. "Is someone there?"

Suddenly he could see it, one of the trees was moving or at least a part of it was. The short stubby thing fell to the ground before getting up and, stumbling, leapt over the chain link fence to land gracefully on the other side.

"Amethyst!?" Steven shouted. He couldn't believe it was her but the purple skin was a dead give away. "Amethyst!" He shouted again.

She must not have heard him as she ran off cutting through the backyards of suburban houses before disappearing between two homes. Steven hadn't seen either gem since the incident with Pearl and he wasn't about to let his friend slip away that easily.

"Wait for me Amethyst!" He shouted running head long down the slope of the hill. A small tree root jutting out from the edge met his foot and Steven went tumbling down slamming face first into the fence below.

*argh* "Right on the scar." He muttered as he stood up rubbing his left temple. At this rate it was threatening to become an indent if he kept banging his head into things. Placing two hands on the top of the fence he huffed as he tried to haul himself over to the other side. Barely straddling the fence for more than a few seconds he slipped off tearing his jeans as he went. *ugh* he grunted as he landed.

"Alright Amethyst" he said to himself "You'd better have a good reason for running away. I'm not in the mood for your games today."

Taking the same zigzag path as his friend Steven ran to catch up with Amethyst.

"Amethyst. Amethyst! Come on you know I don't run well." He huffed already red faced from his short sprint. He made a mental note that if he survived this run he would start working out.

Steven emerged from between the two houses Amethyst had slipped past into a rounded cul-de-sac, there was no hint of purple in sight.

*huff, huff* "Oh, come on, I probably missed my bus because of this. Amethyst? Amethyst, I know you're listening…right?" There was no reply.

Steven was about to turn around and head back up the hill when he saw her. Not Amethyst, the figure that stood before him had a leaner, taller form a dancer's body with a wave of slicked back red curls. She was standing there in the middle of the cul-de-sac as if she had been patiently waiting for him all day. Steven's mind worked faster than his mouth _But that's impossible dad told me she was…_

"Pearl!" Steven shouted.

"You need to wake up now Steven or it will be too late."

He took a step forward and blinked in agony as another wave of pain rocketed across his belly. This time the gem pulsed a little more frequently and shown a little brighter than it had that morning. Before he could even cry out the pain released him from its grip and he was able to regain his composure. "Pearl?" Steven looked around but couldn't see her. Just as suddenly as he had spotted her she was gone.

"What was…but she…Pearl? Amethyst! What's going on here!?"

The dreams of Pearl, Amethyst running away from him; suddenly nothing in his world was making any sense. He was standing in the middle of a suburban cul-de-sac at the far end of Beach City. How had he even gotten there? Three weeks ago he had been with the gems and everything was fine but now…

Steven could hear his mind cracking. "I've got to see Garnet, she'll know what's going on."

**000**

Steven came heavy as he dragged his feet through the sand.

*Huff huff* "I-I used to just warp here I didn't know the walk would be so far." He said wiping sweat from his brow as he trudged his way towards the temple entrance.

Opening the door to the beach side shack that led to the inner temple Steven was hit with a wave of nostalgia. It had only been a short while but to him it felt as though he were some long awaited hero returning to his ancestral home; glad to be back but feeling a stranger in his own home. Was he even welcome here anymore? Steven strode through the door with a sense that somehow this one moment was going to solve everything.

"Alright me." He said to no one in particular. "I'm just going to pop in for a quick visit with Garnet and she'll tell me that I'm not crazy and that I can go back to being a crystal gem again. Yup, just gotta find Garnet and then…"

The plan had sounded better in his head. Worse yet he wasn't even sure where Garnet might be. Steven only had access to his mother's room within the temple and Garnet could be in any one of the areas he couldn't reach or she could be on a mission or…or maybe she didn't want to see him. Suddenly Steven felt very lonely in this familiar place.

*argh* "Stupid gem! Why couldn't you have worked like I wanted you to? Why did you have to…to…to make me…I-I didn't want to hurt her." Steven sobbed as he pounded the gem on his stomach with a fist and only came away with a sharp sting where his fist had made contact. *sigh* "I guess I can't blame her or Amethyst for not wanting to be around me."

Before he could even turn to leave a bright light filled the room and Garnet stepped off the temple's warp pad looking worse for wear. Her jumpsuit standard was ripped and torn around the legs and her shoulders were covered in a thick moss that hung down to her waist. Her perfectly square hair was a mess with broken sticks poking out of it here and there giving it the appearance of a bird's nest but still it was garnet all the same.

"Uh, hey Garnet I'm back"*heheh* he laughed nervously.

It took her a moment to realize who she was looking at before she took a step back in surprise.

"S-Steven!? What…Why are you…what are you doing here?" She stammered trying to compose herself.

"Garnet I-I wanted to ask you…" *oomph*

Before he could even get the words out Garnet had crossed the room, knelt down, and wrapped her arms around him. _Oh god she's trying to kill me_ were his first thoughts until he realized she wasn't squeezing the life out of him. Steven returned the hug only to find Garnet was shaking.

"Uh, Garnet? Are you crying?"

"No. I don't cry. I'm just happy to see you alive and well is all." she said wiping nonexistent tears from the corner of her eyes.

Steven gave her a quizzical look. "Oh, um, okay well that's good. I-I just thought that you guys wouldn't want to see me again after…."

"Pearl." Garnet finished for Steven. *sigh* "I figured you'd probably swing by to see her at some point I just wish I had more time to deal with the present situation."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"Nothing, never you mind that now." Garnet stood up and gave Steven a warm smile before walking over to the temple door. "Come, you should see her. I know Pearl would want you to."

Now Steven was at a complete lose. "What? B-but Dad said Pearl was…you know, dead."

Garnet stopped for a moment allowing him to catch up before heading towards the door again. "Well Steven it's a little difficult to explain this but I guess in the same way humans have beliefs centered around what happens after death so to do the gems. In our culture it is thought that a gem never really dies but rather spreads her energies throughout the universe until she is ready to reconsolidate , taking a piece of the universe with her when she does. This ensures that the new gem is stronger than the one that came before it and thus we evolve."

They stopped just outside the temple door. Steven waited for Garnet to activate the door that would lead to their destination. "Wow" He said. "I never really thought of the gems like that before."

*sigh* "To be honest Steven I don't think many have. Humans are a little self-centered in their world view."

The sapphire and ruby gems in the palms of her hands glowed bright as she pressed them against the door. It immediately split in half at her touch revealing a room unlike anything Steven had seen before. There was a rows of pillars on either side of them that led to what looked like a throne some giant would use to sit in. Big puffy white clouds covered the floor and hung low in the air. Everything else was a bright reddish orange crystal that gave the room a holy, reverent look. Yet, there was some battle damage, a pillar had the top broken off and something heavy had been thrown into one of the walls.

A breathless "Whoa" was all Steven could get out at the site of the room.

Garnet took Steven by the hand. "Hm, it is impressive isn't it Steven? Come on, Pearl is just up ahead."

Being led by the hand to an ornate throne amongst clouds reminded Steven of bible imagery. Of a lone angel leading the dead to the gates of heaven. _That's crazy I'm not dead_ he told himself.

"This is it." Garnet said coming to an abrupt stop just before the "throne".

Getting a closer look at it Steven realized that it wasn't a throne, not in the traditional sense anyways. The red orange crystal backing actually extended far beyond the "seat" making it the back wall of the room obscured by the low hanging clouds. The "seat" was actually a red quilted glass enclosure with some gems placed upon indents in the fabric. There were so many different types of gems here. Some had flat smooth surfaces like glass while others were jagged and spiked and each one was a different color but they all shared one commonality: they were broken or cracked. Pearl's gem lay front and center on the alter a large gash ran along the length of it and chunks of it had clearly been broken off and never found. They were probably still on the cave floor or vaporized.

Garnet continued with her explanation. "You see, even though we believe that the gem will be reincarnated we preserve the body the gem left behind to remember the deeds of the gem's previous life."

"B-but this doesn't make any sense." Steven protested. "I saw Pearl retreat into her gem. I mean I may have hurt her but she still had a chance to recover. Her gem definitely wasn't this broken."

Garnet put a hand on his shoulder. "Steven, I understand that you suffered some head trauma from a falling rock and were unconscious for a time after the cave-in. I don't know what exactly it is you think happened but I do know that you don't realize the kind of power you released in those caves. Steven, that blast nearly took off my head. You destroyed most of the relay tower and killed almost all of the spider gems for us. That was how we were able to escape. We were lucky Pearl was the only one to die there."

Steven couldn't let it go, however, the image had been so clear in his mind. That's not how it happened he was sure of it, but why then did Garnet have such a different story?

"Look Steven." Garnet began as she knelt bringing their faces to a height. "You shouldn't blame yourself for this. We all knew about your gem pains and should have seen it for what it was. Regardless, we decided to risk it anyways and for that I just wanted to say I'm sorry. That's not something you should have to have gone through."

"I still see her in my dreams you know." Steven wasn't sure what made him blurt it out so suddenly but he needed to get it off his chest.

Garnet continued to kneel her face going from surprise to confusion and back to surprise as if she were trying to work the details out on her face. "W-what? What do you…"

"She keeps telling me to wake up and just now I saw her in town right after Amethyst…"

Garnet was suddenly alert again "Amethyst!? Steven you saw Amethyst?"

"Yeah she was running away from…"

"Are you hurt?"

"What? No why?"

Garnet breathed a sigh of relief and came in for a hug. "Oh, Steven you know Amethyst. She can be...a little unstable from time to time and this whole mess did not sit well with her. Steven eyed the broken column and the cracks that had been smashed into the walls again.

"How bad was it? Your fight I mean."

Garnet gave him a long hard look "It was…manageable."

She wore it well but Steven could sense that beneath her stoic mask Garnet was in turmoil.

"Steven." She said suddenly. "I need you to promise me something." Steven nodded his head yes not knowing what he was agreeing to "Steven I want you to know that I don't say this lightly but right now Amethyst is very unpredictable. She may even see you as a threat. The whole reason why I convinced your father to move further from the temple was to keep you safe. You know it pains me to say this but, for the moment, you need to stay away from her. Amethyst is dangerous."


	4. Chapter 4

He was floating again. This time, however, he was not lost in some dark endless void; Steven found himself drifting along a stark white landscape as he lay atop a large, dense cloud that drew him further and further into a bright pearlescent horizon.

"Wake up Steven because Amethyst is dangerous."

Pearl and Garnet's words mingled together and reverberated inside Steven's skull. _Hm, another dream? _He thought to himself _Yeah, must be. I must've dozed off in school again. Dad won't like that._

He closed his eyes and let the cloud guide him for a time before opening his them again, frowning. Something was wrong here, something felt off. If he were dreaming how come he felt so awake, so aware of his surroundings? How could he know he was dreaming and still be dreaming? Steven looked around at the vast expanse of white nothingness and realized it had walls and a ceiling.

"What the…? When did that happen?"

Suddenly he stopped floating as the cloud came to a halt in the middle of the "room". Steven looked down at his transport and saw that it wasn't clouds he had been floating on but rather it was a comfortable bed with pillows propping him up.

"O-okay, I want to get off now I want to stop dreaming. Please?" Steven felt a cold prickle of fear well up in his chest. Somehow he knew this was the part where dream became nightmare.

He tried to get off the bed, anything to wake himself up but found that he couldn't. His arms and legs may as well have been made out of lead they felt so heavy. The bed had him now as tubes curled up out of the mattress and dug their way under his skin pumping a clear fluid into him. "Help!" he wanted to scream "Please, help me!" but all that came out was a hoarse croak that died in his throat. _I'd be able to shout if I wasn't so thirsty_ he thought to himself. Even his eyelids had become lead as the bed's liquid drew him further under its spell. He struggled to keep them open. _Don't wanna go to sleep…need to stay…awake _his mind could barely form the words.

"Steven?! Steven that's it you're almost there. Please just wake up." A feminine voice cut through the haze in his mind. It wasn't Pearl that was telling him to stay awake this time it was…

"C-Connie? Is that you?" Steven's eyes shot open. It was her; there was no mistaking it. He could feel a familiar warmth fill him at the thought of Connie by his side.

"N-no! Steven don't close your eyes you have to wake up!" She sounded panicked; frightened that he might close his eyes again. Was she pleading with him? "Steven please there isn't much time you have to wake up!"

His eyelids were pressing down on him again as the room was fading to a blinding white light. Connie's voice slowly faded out with the rest of the room until…

*Gasp* *Cough, Cough* "Ah! No, I don't want to go to sleep!" Steven shot upright, awakening to the sounds of laughter.

"Hm, indeed. Well, I am glad to hear that Mr. Universe." Mrs. Hinckle said with a look that suggested anything but the fact that she was glad.

Math class, he had fallen asleep in Mrs. Hinckle's math class. Steven palmed his face "Oh, not again." _Wait_ _a minute _he thought _Then does that mean it really was all just a dream…but that room, the bed. It felt so real so, so…_ "Uh, sorry Mrs. were you saying something?"

*sigh* His math teacher pinched the bridge of her nose as she always did when speaking to him. "Yes Mr. Universe I was. I asked you if you had absorbed the answer to the question through osmosis since you decided to fall asleep on your textbook."

Steven was feeling dumber by the second. "Uh, what was the question again Mrs…."

"The question is written on the board Steven. Why don't you try reading it and coming up with an answer this time?" Her words where met with another round of laughter from the rest of the class.

Steven squinted at the whiteboard in front of him. "Rationalize the denominators of the following expressions and simplify if possible." After which came a confusing mess of numbers, letters, and symbols that Steven could never hope to decipher. _Pearl would have known how to solve this _Steven thought to himself glumly.

"Well, Mr. universe? We're waiting."

"Amethyst is dangerous." He blurted out not knowing why that was the first thing that came to his mind.

This time there was no laughter just stares of disgust from his classmates. Mrs. Hinckle was getting red faced in her anger. "No. Just no Steven. Amethyst is not dangerous. It is a violet quartz once thought to ward away drunkenness in ancient times. Maybe you'd know that if you paid attention in your geology class but since you obviously don't pay attention in any of your classes I can't say I'm surprised that THAT is your answer to the problem on the board."

Steven shrank back into his seat wishing the day was already over.

**000**

Steven found himself walking home alone after school again.

*sigh* "Man, why did I have to say that? Now the whole school thinks I'm weird."

It was true the whole school did think he was strange. In the hours following math, Steven had received numerous taunts from fellow classmates telling him to watch out because this thing or that thing was also dangerous before being shoved into said thing. It was like hearing Garnet's words on permanent repeat all day long.

*Bzzt, Bzzt*

Steven pulled the phone from his pocket and flicked it on to check his texts. He had received two messages.

Dad: Hey there stu-ball. Sorry but I'm going to be a little late again tonight my boss is being a real pain in the you-know-what. So feel free to make yourself whatever. I don't know there might be some pizza in the fridge but just check for mold first. I think it's been in there since we moved….so, yeah. Anyways see you when I get home.

Connie: Hey Steven how was school today? Did you do that thing I told you to do yesterday? About imagining everyone in their underwear during your speech in lit class. Makes it easier right? lol. Txt me back.

Steven paused before responding. Should he tell her about his little freak out? "Yeah totally, school was great."

*bzzt, bzzt*

Connie: Okay, what happened?

She could always tell when he was lying to her. Steven could almost see her rolling her eyes at him.

Steven: Fine, lit class was alright but I may have freaked out a little in Math and now everyone hates me…again.

Connie: Was it because of Amethyst?

Steven had told Connie about his talk with Garnet and how he had to be careful around Amethyst if he ever saw her again and he had seen her often. It was always the same thing, always a flash of violet caught just out of the corner of his eye before it disappeared into the shadows somewhere. What he hadn't told Connie was just how scared this had made him. Amethyst was family to him, but once she got mad…well, Steven didn't want to think about that. She had nearly flattened Pearl once out of anger. One thing was for certain though: Amethyst was stalking him. He was certain of that.

Steven was about to respond when he saw that familiar flash of purple again. This time, however, the tables were turned. Steven, wanting to avoid more ridicule, had taken a different path home today. Amethyst, not knowing this, had set herself up in a tree Steven would normally have passed under if he had been going his usual way home. Steven took a step towards the tree. _What am I doing? _he thought_ Garnet told me to stay away from her. She told me that Amethyst might try to hurt me. You've seen her mad, she can be scary._ Try as he might though, Steven couldn't help but remember the gem who had been his big sister all throughout his life. That Amethyst would never do anything to harm him. Steven took another step forward. Forget what Garnet said he had to know what was going through Amethyst's mind. He had to confront her. Steven, mind made up, ran a semi-circle across the street coming up right behind Amethyst in her perch, she was completely oblivious to him as he approached. Steven licked his lips. This was it. It was just like approaching a wild animal. You had to be cool, calm, and collected. One false move and that would be the end of him.

"Hey, Amethyst! What are you doing up in that tree?!"

For a brief second time froze and Steven was worried he may have caused Amethyst to lose her grip but at the last second she caught herself and landed on her feet. She turned to stare at him.

"Uh…um, right. So, how have you been?" Steven began awkwardly. When she didn't respond he continued. "That's great; I've been doing well too. So, I've noticed you've been following me around a lot lately and Garnet said you were going a little crazy so when I saw you up there in that…"

*CRACK*

Chunks of concrete exploded as Amethyst brought her foot down, hard. "Well Garnet was right. Now leave me alone." She turned to leave.

"No! Please don't go." Steven shouted. He had already lost Pearl and he was currently losing his mind, he was going to lose his big sister too.

Amethyst snorted *heh* "Just try and catch me little man."

And before Steven could even blink she was sprinting down the block. She jumped and grabbed a tree branch which she used to swing onto the roof of a nearby house before running to the edge and jumping off on the other side. Steven, whose gem powers had yet to blossom, could only stare on in amazement. "Whoa, she must've been yoda's master."

Determined to catch Amethyst no matter what Steven ran after her opting to sprint through the backyards of the homes rather than jump over them. "Maybe next time." He promised himself.

Steven was in luck as Amethyst seemed much slower today than she normally was it also didn't help her any that she was jumping from home to home while Steven could keep pace at street level without any fancy parkour.

*huff, huff* "Wait Amethyst stop! You know I can't run as fast as you."

But Amethyst didn't stop, she continued to maneuver her way around the rooftops slowly beginning to outpace Steven as he struggled to keep from doubling over and throwing up in his exhaustion. Stopping by a light post Steven leaned his weight against it for a few moment to catch his breath. It was then that he noticed they had somehow gotten away from the suburbs and had been running through the industrial district of Beach City.

"Amethyst, Where are you going?" he shouted. "At least tell me why you've been stalking me!"

Again there was no response. This time, however, instead of continuing on along the rooftops Steven watched as Amethyst jumped off the roof of a red bricked factory and slid down the steal siding of an adjacent cannery before leaping off the wall and landing with a backflip safely on the concrete below. Steven, having caught his breath finally, chased her as she darted in between the cannery and the red brick building. He made it in time to watch as she ducked into a side ally by the red brick building.

"Please be a dead end, please, please just be a dead end." Steven begged, fearing more running.

His prayers were answered when he turned the corner and mercifully found Amethyst trapped against the wall of the red brick building with no place to go.

*huff, huff* "A-alright Amethyst *huff* There's no place to go from here. So we're going to sit down and talk about this like adults. Why did you and Garnet fight? What is this all abo-" *Argh*

Steven began to double over clutching at his gem. In the excitement and worry that had followed from his visit with Garnet at the temple Steven had forgotten about his "little problem".

"No" He choked out through gritted teeth trying to hold back the mounting pressure "No, not now."

Steven clenched his fists and tried to repress the pulsating pink energy but it was all to no avail.

"Amethyst! Get out of the way I can't…"

*BANG*

A wall of swirling pink energy rocketed towards Amethyst before Steven could even finish his sentence. Amethyst, knowing what to expect this time, backed up and leapt on to the back wall of the alley before vaulting over both the mass of energy and Steven just as her platform was obliterated by a beam of pink death and flaming bricks. She landed behind him on all fours with an *oomph* before regaining her composure and standing up.

"You!" she screamed. "You nearly killed me! What, did Garnet send you after me or something?"

"N-no" Steven stammered as he tried to stand on unsteady legs. "I-I didn't…I tried to hold it in it was an accident I swear."

Amethyst drew her weapon. "And how many of those accidents were people Steven? Your mom, Pearl, and now me? I warned her. I told Garnet that you were just a time bomb waiting to explode. Well, this one's for Pearl."

*shink*

Steven ducked in time to see Amethyst's whip carve a nearby dumpster in half. It fell apart spilling trash all over the alley floor.

"W-why are you so angry" Steven sobbed "I didn't mean to hurt you; I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"

"Oh don't worry." Amethyst said as she strode over to a cowering Steven. "You didn't hurt me at all."

Steven whipped the tears from his eyes to look up at Amethyst's form towering over him.

"Amethyst, please just listen to-"

*Crack*

Amethyst's fist made contact with Steven's left temple sending him spinning as he collapsed on the ground. The last thing he saw before the world was swallowed by darkness was Amethyst's emotionless face as she came closer to deliver the finishing blow.

**000**

He was in the white room again, floating on clouds that weren't clouds. The tubes were in his arms again pumping him full of mystery fluid that made his limbs feel heavy. This time, however, it was alright. At least he wasn't fighting Amethyst. That fact alone was enough to bring a small smile to his lips. _This is so strange_ he thought _isn't this the part where people start telling me to wake up? Almost as if it's just some bad dream. I-I wish it was. I wish this whole nightmare would just end. A-and what's that noise?_

He would have turned his head towards the noise but his neck felt so stiff and sore that the task was just too much for him. Instead he listened as the sound grew from distant background noise to something more prevalent and annoying.

*beep, beep*

*Beep, Beep*

*BEEP, BEEP*

_Ow, what is that?_ Steven tried to cover his ears but found his arms unresponsive. When had he closed his eyes? Steven wasn't sure he but with the increase in beeps he slowly began to open his eyes. He gasped and found that it burned as air rushed into dead lungs that hadn't drawn a proper breath in a long time. His throat was sore and parched.

Eyes fluttering open Steven found that he wasn't alone in the room. There was a small child like figure sitting on the edge of his cloud/bed. It was wearing a white dress with long dark hair and it was humming a tune Steven thought sounded familiar but couldn't quite place.

"A-aaa" Steven tried to speak but found that his voice died in his throat once again. Determined he pressed on. "A-are you an angel?"

"Wha-" The girl stopped humming and turned towards him her almond eyes meeting his. "S-Steven?!"

_That's weird_ Steven thought _She looks just like Connie. But Connie isn't an angel she's…..wait where am I?_

Connie had tears welling in her eyes "Well, don't just stare at me like that doofus you're awake!" She leapt off the corner of his bed and brought him in for a crushing bear hug. Steven could feel the wetness of her tears soaking through his gown. _Wait a minute. Am I wearing a gown? _Connie's hug prompted him to look down at himself for the first time and realize he was in fact wear a gown, the sort you'd see in hospitals on TV.

"C-Connie? Where am I? What's going on a-and what happened to Amethyst? Is she still after me?"

Connie broke away from the hug and looked up at him, confused for a second, before realization took hold of her. "Oh god that's right the others. Steven, everyone has been waiting on you to wake up, they're all here. Well, actually your dad had to go home and pick up something and my parents left hours ago, but the gems are still here. I'll go get them just stay right there."

Before Steven could even process her words Connie had jumped off his bed and raced out the door to proclaim the good news. Steven was left alone to think on the situation as best he could. Taking a moment he looked around the room. He soon found that the beeping noise he had heard was coming from a machine strapped to his chest. Each steady beep marked the pace of his pounding heart.

"Sooo, not dead then. That's a relief."

A quick examination of his arm showed him that the tubes coming from the bed in his dream were actually IV's pumping fluid and nutrients into his body. IVs, heart monitor, and hospital gowns? There was no denying where he was.

"Man Amethyst must have really done a number on me but at least I am still alive."

From his bed Steven could hear Connie talking excitedly to some people just outside of his room. "Yeah, Yeah he just woke up. I know right? It IS a miracle."

Suddenly his door was kicked wide open.

"Here's Amethyst!" The diminutive purple gem shrieked as she quickly bounded into the room.

Steven did his best to hide under the covers, his mind racing. _Ah, she's come to finish me! Someone help!_

But it was too late. Steven didn't even have enough time to scream as Amethyst leapt up onto his bed and tore away the covers. "Where's my main man Steven at? Hey, guy I heard you were….Uh, Steve?"

By this point Steven had curled up into a ball on the mattress preparing for the final blow and praying that it would be quick. "P-please don't hit me again."

"Amethyst what in the world are you doing?!"

That voice. Steven's ears perked up the minute she spoke. _B-but she's…_

"What? I didn't even touch him. See." A visibly shocked Amethyst raised her open palms to show that her fists weren't clenched.

Despite his fear Steven had to look up. That voice almost sounded like Pearl's but her gem had been destroyed, he had seen it, he had been responsible for it. There was no way…and then there she was standing alongside Garnet and Connie as Amethyst towered over him.

"Amethyst, I can't even believe I have to say this but you have to be gentle with Steven! He's still half human and he just woke up after…"

"YOU'RE ALIVE!" Steven cried completely forgetting the threat of Amethyst as he struggled to get out of bed and fell on shaking, unsteady legs before bringing himself back up and waddling over to Pearl. He threw his arms around her and buried his face in her middle. He could feel hot, stinging tears pour down his cheeks. "I knew it, I knew I wasn't crazy."

*ha-ha* "Well of course you're not Steven." Pearl said, returning the hug. "But you really should lay back down you've been in a coma for the past month."

"Y-you mean because Amethyst knocked me out?"

All eyes went back to Amethyst. "H-hey don't look at me I never touched the guy."

Garnet placed a hand on his shoulder. "Steven, I don't think Amethyst has ever once intentionally tried to harm you. She's been here by your bedside this whole just like we all have."

"B-but." Steven stammered "But Pearl died and dad moved us into the city a-and you guys said I couldn't be a crystal gem any more. And Amethyst …She…"

Steven looked around the concerned faces of his friends and family. "T-that all happened, right?"

Pearl was the first to speak. "Steven, do you even remember what happened at the relay tower?"

"Yeah we were ambushed by those feral gems, I accidently lost control a-and I…my beam…it went right through you. Garnet said that I nearly brought the whole place down."

Pearl shook her head. "Steven after you, um….after your…"

Garnet interjected. "What Pearl is trying to say is that after she retreated into her gem you were knocked unconscious by a falling rock. Amethyst and I grabbed the both of you and then we made it back to the warp pad in time before the cave completely collapsed on all our heads. After that we brought you here and Pearl recovered within a week. Nobody moved anywhere, no one was kicked out of anything and Amethyst certainly never attacked you, she saved you."

Steven's head was spinning by this point. Was that horrible school he went to just a dream as well? What even was reality anymore? "Wait, so all those times I heard Pearl telling me to wake up that was…"

*bwahahaha* "Oh man you could hear that?" Amethyst laughed. "Dude, After her recovery Pearl spent weeks at your bedside begging you to wake up. I mean, wow, that must have been really annoying after like the first hundred times or so, eh?

Pearl blushed "I-I was just worried about Steven's wellbeing. We don't know much about his physiology and it seems as if he heals more like a human being than a gem. So, yes Amethyst I was at his bedside for weeks."

Amethyst snorted "More like you felt guilty. It was one of your spears that loosened the rock that struck Steven in the head. Seriously dude, if anybody attacked you it was Pearl."

Pearl blushed even harder, she had been caught. "Oh, Steven I-I'm so sorry I mean there was dust everywhere and we had lost track of you a-and I'm…"

"Don't worry about it." Steven said putting on his most upbeat face. "I'm just glad that you're alright." *yawn* "But I am feeling a little tired and this is a lot to take in so do you guys think you could give a minute please?"

"Of course." Garnet nodded "We still need to get a hold of Greg and tell him the good news. You take as much time as you need." And with that she ushered the others out of the room.

Steven sat alone on the hospital bed for a long time trying to piece together everything he had just heard. Maybe it all really was just a nightmare that lasted through a month long coma…maybe. Or did Amethyst's punch send him to the hospital and this was just his brain creating a scenario he wanted. A world in which he wasn't responsible for Pearl's death and everything was just A-Okay? Steven's hand went to the scar on his left temple as he inadvertently traced a finger down the length of it. Both realities, the one with Pearl and without Pearl, felt so real it was impossible to know which was the dream and which one was real life. Finally Steven decided. Even if it was a lie, he was happy here and he would much rather be happy.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay wow so I kind of failed at this since it was originally supposed to be a 4,000 word one shotter with a completely different ending. Meh, whatever. Anyways, I would like to thank everyone who read and or liked/followed this story to the bitter end. And as always please review. Because reviews make me a better writer.


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